What Happened on November 13?

November 13 is World Kindness Day — celebrating compassion worldwide — on the same date the Vietnam Veterans Memorial was dedicated in 1982, Mariner 9 orbited Mars in 1971, and Fantasia premiered in 1940.

• 1789 — Benjamin Franklin's 'death and taxes' letter is dated

  On November 13, 1789, Benjamin Franklin wrote that nothing in this world is certain except death and taxes — a line still quoted today. Read the full story →

• 1940 — Disney's Fantasia premieres in New York

  On November 13, 1940, Walt Disney's Fantasia opened, pairing animated stories with classical music in a road-show spectacular. Read the full story →

• 1956 — The U.S. Supreme Court bans segregated buses in Montgomery

  On November 13, 1956, the Supreme Court upheld a ruling that Montgomery's bus segregation laws were unconstitutional. Read the full story →

• 1971 — Mariner 9 becomes the first spacecraft to orbit another planet

  On November 13, 1971, NASA's Mariner 9 entered orbit around Mars — the first craft to orbit any planet but Earth. Read the full story →

• 1982 — The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is dedicated in Washington, D.C.

  On November 13, 1982, crowds dedicated the Vietnam Veterans Memorial — the black granite Wall listing more than 58,000 names. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894) · Louis Brandeis (1856–1941) · Whoopi Goldberg (1955) · Joe Mauer (1983)

Days & observances

World Kindness Day · National Indian Pudding Day · Sadie Hawkins Day · Education Support Professionals Day